Interviewing the Mad Man
by BritishAlien
Summary: Set after the Dark Knight - Finally, Gotham's most evil villain has been bought to justice, but what lies beneath that dark heart? What is it that makes a mad man...mad? Hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Interviewing the Mad Man

-x-x-x-

A cobweb hung silently from the interrogation room's ceiling. The space was cold and sterile. It hurt to be in there. Arrested the suspect and detaining them long enough to get them into this room had been the victory. The catching not the charging had been the reward.

And now in this basement below Gotham, in this dark hole in the ground where the evil of the city would languish in the light, a mad man sat and smiled. A forced smile carved from pure hatred and pressed upon his face like a scar stretching the skin of the world. The dark, hallowed eyes darted between everywhere and nowhere until finally resting on their prey. A tired man looked into these eyes of hell and simply smirked. The Joker had played his last card and Commissioner Gordon had the winning hand.

The clown had sat solemnly quiet for a good ten minutes, waiting for his conviction from Gordon. The whirring of the lights that hung from the ceiling dominated any silence that may have been. The observation windows showed bleakness and yet from behind them, they could feel perhaps a hundred pairs of glistening eyes judging and hating together. _He_ had no way out now. His diversions had been and gone and now the man in the purple suit and a sketched smile was left without options. Sure he had his hoards in Arkham, he had his contacts in land and overseas but no way of getting the word out to rescue him now. No second chances. It hadn't even been announced that the infamous Joker had been captured and was now sitting, like an innocent school boy, in front of the City's highest ranking police chief, Commissioner James Gordon.

It had been a long few days where a cloak of darkness had been pulled swiftly over Gotham and now the nightmare was over.

'Any words for me, Gordon?' The Joker seemed to whisper. His voice crawled over the room and his smile placed the punctuation on the ears of those listening. He was starting to find this whole affair rather tedious. 'Any words of wisdom from Gotham's favourite shadow?' He licked his lips, coating the thin red scratches in more vile hatred. 'Hiding in the dark and leaping out only to throw the light on those you do not wish to associate with? Those who, if we take back the barriers, aren't so different from yourself…'

'Joker…' Gordon leant back in his chair and crossed his arms, 'Your mind tricks can't affect me. Not anymore. I have witnessed your kind for over twenty years. The filth of Gotham. You snivel and you grovel and you latch on to the basest fears of the silent majority. You beg for attention because that's all you can ever wish to achieve. You are going down for…just about every crime in the book and some new ones which I threw in for good measure.' Gordon's usual, calm demeanour was allowing him to talk to this man…this creature without any other policemen in the room. It was just the two of them. Man to monster, just…talking. If this conversation had taken place after Gordon's family had been terrorised, he would have unleashed a hell that only Gotham's finest policemen could throw upon the city's scum. That of silence. To the Joker and the others like him who prowled around Gotham, silence was the worst reaction. No opportunity to wield your cunning into an escape and no way to manipulate your enemies. But this man…or whatever he was who sat in front of the Commissioner, didn't deserve silence. He had created havoc and had unleashed pandemonium on the streets of Gotham. He had almost turned the world on its head. He would get what he deserved in time. And only because of the constant, but secret, support of the police by a man, a creature, whose name was now dirt. A man who would be hunted down and accused for the wrongs he had never committed because it was right to do so. If it hadn't been for the Batman, Gordon doubted if he'd even be there interviewing the madman. He had saved Gordon and the city in so many ways this night…and yet the illusive Batman had lost everything. That was the price of servitude, which would one day catch them all.

Finally, The Joker leaned forward. Resting his elbows on the single table that divided the two men and light from dark.

'You think this is all a big joke to me, don't you, Commissioner?' The Joker laughed. His cold, rancid snigger. 'You think I do this to sate an appetite. A longing … I don't. I do this to prove to men like you that you are wrong and that the world you obey is corrupt. I do this to bring your fears into the open air and drag the sane to insanity. And men like me look at men like you and your fancy lives where you put on your brrrrave smiles...' The Joker touched the tips of his carved smile, pushing them in so that mild spurts of blood oozed from the wound, unleashing the laugh again. 'And ask…Why so serious?'

And the room descended into darkness…


	2. Chapter 2

Interviewing the Mad Man

-x-x-x-

The darkness struck through the light. The silence ticked like a pendulum, heavy on the soul. Gordon could feel the eyes boring into him. He guessed that those behind the glass would be panicking right about now. Fevered hands running over red hot buttons trying to bring back the light. No doubt somebody would be trying to open the only door leading to the interview room, all to no avail. Joker wasn't that stupid. Gordon's life was flashing through his mind. Memories of what he had once treasured and might not be able to do if things didn't go his way. Everything became pronounced and he was wondering whether anything would happen to him. How could he leave his family now?

But he had something that the people behind the glass didn't. He knew that, so far, nothing had happened to him. The Joker had nearly had a minute and Gordon hadn't been attacked or threatened by the theatrical prisoner. He had stayed still and stayed safe. Yet, the silence was becoming unnerving. It always did before something terrible happened. It was creeping through his ears and through his mind. A tiger would have been less deadly.

THEN THE LIGHTS CAME UP

It pierced his sight and for a moment, Gordon sat frantically blinking in the brightness. After a few seconds, both he and those behind the glass noticed the truth.

Sitting before Gordon was no longer the man in the tailored purple suit and the torn smile. Gone was the man who had held Gotham in his fearful grip. Instead, in his place, was a bound and gagged police officer. He was breathing heavily, sweat dripping down his face and onto his uniform shirt … and he was crying. His mouth was tied with a purple handkerchief and it looked like he'd been thrown onto the chair like a rag doll. His eyes held only fear. However, what Gordon instantly noticed was the playing card, sewn with purple thread into the police officer's forehead.

Gordon leapt from his seat as a few officers burst into the room after their failed attempts. Gordon wrenched the gag from the man's mouth and checked that he was alright before allowing the other officers to check him over properly.

Gordon glanced around the room. There was nowhere to hide. There had been no way in and no way out. How could he have done it? How could the madman have escaped? Gordon cursed under his breath, running his hands through his hair with stress. He walked to the bound man only to find he had fallen into unconsciousness. Gordon wouldn't get anything from him for a few hours. There was only one thing he could do…

Without telling his men where he was headed, Gordon ran from the room. Through the GCPD, up the flights of stairs and to the roof. He pushed the door open that led to the shimmering night air of Gotham. He ran over to what he had once termed as the 'Bat signal'. Now that it was broken, the bat would no longer leave its mark, but maybe he would see the light. Maybe he'd still come…?

Before Gordon could do anything, he heard that sound and he felt that fear drift over his heart. It wasn't a fear that he would openly admit to, but nonetheless it was still there. It was the feeling of being intently watched. He looked to his feet before turning to see the dark knight. Cloak flapping in the breeze. Gordon didn't have to speak.

'I know.'


	3. Chapter 3

The dark night hid the Batman like a cloak. He was invisible to the world. It was what Gordon felt was a force for good with the Batman. To the scum of the city he was a physical image of terror and fear. He was the one who could tear down an empire with force and strength. To the rest of Gotham, he was a symbol. He was an idea and their protector. Patrolling the city in their name. To him and those who served to protect Gotham, the Batman was untouchable. Before tonight anyway…

Gordon looked to Batman's eyes. The only things that shone out against the night.

'Do you know where he is?' Gordon asked jumping on to a chain of thought that he didn't have faith in. The Joker wouldn't have waited around. He'd be miles away by now, eluding the grasp of the GCPD for the time being. Gordon felt like he could catch smoke easier. The Joker was Gotham's drug.

'I can find him.' The Batman growled. 'Let me see the victim.'

'How d'you kno…?'

'There's not much time.'

'He's been taken to the cells. He can't talk at the moment.'

'He'll talk to me.'

The Batman's sincerity caught Gordon. Gordon was a responsible man who'd been made Commissioner in the early hours of the morning. He was hardy and knew when there was a chance to succeed. Any chance would have been nice about now. But the Batman was a risk and the very fact that there were orders to arrest the Batman on sight made things a little tricky.

'The word is out and there's already a price on your head. Every crack pot in Gotham will already be searching for you. You can't be seen.' Gordon protested. He understood the Batman's intentions, but was finding the Joker worth losing the Batman? Gordon considered for a few seconds, patrolling the top of the MCU and looking out on to Gotham.

The sky scrapers and the lights showed a lie. The city harboured dangerous men and one of them was the lynch pin in the very fabric of Gotham. Behind the bright lights hid the Joker and his kind. If Gordon couldn't catch him, then there would be no Gotham. He could tell Batman was watching him. The eyes pierced through skin. It was unnerving. Gordon couldn't tell anymore whether an ally that you feared was as good as an enemy that you liaised with as the mob had been for the past few decades. Was it right to give into your fears and use them for good?

'Alright. I think I can get you a session with the victim. It'd have to be quick or the others will notice something is wrong.' He must have been crazy. But he had to do it to find the Joker. He had one chance.

'I won't need long. He'll talk.'

'I only hope you're right.'


End file.
